Quilting Books for Every Season

Do you change your home decorations with the season? I admit that I don't do this very often but I do like to change out my wall hangings and sometimes even table runners for different times of the year. I certainly do this in December where the whole house looks like a Christmas bomb exploded in our house! 

I've gone through my personal library of quilt books to pick out some of the ones I have that have seasonal projects in them. Whether you like pieced projects or prefer appliqué (this is my niche!), cotton or wool, you're sure to find a suitable seasonal project in one of these books. They are (in no particular order):

Kim Schaefer's Calendar Quilts

Quilt the Seasons by Pat Sloan

Quilt the Season Book 2 by Pat Sloan (because one book is never enough from Pat)

A Year in the Life of Sunbonnet Sue by Christine Porter and Darra Williamson

Seasonal Silhouettes by Edyta Sitar

Simple Seasons by Kim Diehl

A Change of Seasons by Bonnie Sullivan

More Free-Motion Machine Quilting 1-2-3 by Lori Kennedy

I've included links to each book so you can take a closer look at them or even add a few to your quilting library.

Click on the image below to see a little of each of these books.

Do you like to put out seasonal quilts in your home? I'd love to see your quilt projects, so just pop a photo in the Comment section below. If you have a favourite quilt book that has seasonal projects in it, let me know that too.

Creatively,

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P.P.S. I am an Amazon affiliate and will receive a small amount of compensation if you purchase a product by clicking through links in this blogpost. This allows me to continue to provide you with FREE content each week. Thank you.

Quilting Books for Autumn, Halloween and Thanksgiving

It's that time of year again! Cooler temperatures and shorter days mean that fall is just around the corner.

I love fall quilt projects, whether it is just for autumn or for Thanksgiving (in October for Canadians and November for Americans) or my favourite, Halloween. 

I've gone through my personal quilt book library and pulled out a few favourite quilting books that have projects for either autumn, Thanksgiving, Halloween or all three! They are (in no particular order):

'Tis the Autumn Season by Jeanne Large and Shelley Wicks

Festive Fall Quilts by Kim Schaefer

A Harvest Melody by Nancy Halvorsen 

Easy Does it for Autumn by Nancy Halvorsen

Acorn Hollow by Nancy Halvorsen

Stitches from the Harvest by Kathy Schmitz

Critter Halloween by Brandywine Designs 

Where possible, I have included links so you can take a closer look at these books - or get your own copy.

Click on the image below to get a sneak peek of each of these books.

Do you have a favourite book - or two - that have seasonal projects in them? Leave me a comment below to tell my the ones you like the best.

Creatively,

P.S. Did you know that you can sign up to receive FREE emails full of quilting goodness? Just click here to receive FREE content directly in your email inbox every few weeks from Chatterbox Quilts. I know you'll be glad you did!

P.P.S. I am an Amazon affiliate and will receive a small amount of compensation if you purchase a product by clicking through links in this blogpost. This allows me to continue to provide you with FREE content each week. Thank you.

Book Review: Visible Mending

I found just the book I need! I recently bought a black semi-sheer top and didn't notice that it had two small holes near the hemline in the front. It wasn't until I got it home that I noticed them and was so disappointed. I wasn't sure what to do: whether I should darn the holes or try another solution, so the top has just been hanging in my closet. Enter the book I'm reviewing today: Visible Mending by Jenny Wilding Cardon.

While no one ever relishes mending, you might actually be looking for garments on which to do this once you take a look at this book! In Visible Mending, Jenny shows you five different ways to fix your favourite garments that may have just a bit too much wear on them. Two of these techniques involve hand work while the remaining ones can be done on the sewing machine.

Boro stitching and hand embroidery are both easy techniques and Jenny shows you various easy stitches on how to use these to fix holes in a top, sweater or other pieces of clothing.

If you want to use your sewing machine to mend those holes, there are sections on patching, darning, and mending by machine. Whatever technique you choose, the stitching is meant to be seen. This makes it easier, in my opinion, to do these repairs as you don't have to try to hide the fix.

For a closer look at Visible Mending, click on the photo below to watch a video on my YouTube channel.

If you are looking for creative ways to fix holes in your favourite clothing, get your own copy of Visible Mending by Jenny Wilding Cardon.

Creatively,

P.S. Did you know that you can sign up to receive emails full of FREE quilting goodness? Click here to receive FREE content directly in your email inbox every few weeks from Chatterbox Quilts. I know you'll be glad you did!

P.P.S. I am an Amazon affiliate and will receive a small amount of compensation if you purchase a product by clicking through links in this blogpost. This allows me to continue to provide you with FREE content each week. Thank you.

Text Design for The Oath from Quilt Traditions

Today I'm going to do a bit of bragging, something I try not to do. I'm mentioned in a book! My name is in a book. I'm in a book!

I was so excited to read the Acknowledgements section in Devon Lavigne's book, Quilt Traditions, because I was in it! There's nothing like seeing your name in print and I just felt so proud. Why was Devon mentioning me in her book? Because I helped her with a small part of "The Oath", one of the projects in Quilt Traditions. 

While Devon is a piecer, I love to appliqué, specifically fusible web or raw edge appliqué. Devon was working on Quilt Traditions and wanted to add some text and numbers to one of the projects in the book. She reached out to me to ask if I could help her out and of course I said yes!

I needed to design and appliqué letters and words for the two side borders on The Oath. It was a bit of a challenge, but I was very pleased with the end result. The Oath celebrates a special event, in this case an anniversary, and little did I know that the date on the quilt was actually Devon and her husband, Rob's wedding date. This made the quilt even more special!

To learn how I created the appliqué for The Oath, you can watch the video below or on my YouTube channel.

Devon and I have collaborated on another project: the online Potion Quilt Along. You can join us for this 4 part pieced quilt along from anywhere in the world - that's why I love the internet! Learn how to do a partial seam technique when creating the blocks in Potion as well as helpful tips on construction. Devon and I will give you tips and the back story behind this quilt from Quilt Traditions. Register now so you'll be ready to join us when the Potion Quilt Along kicks off on July 17, 2017.

Creatively,

P.S. I am an Amazon affiliate and as such I receive a small monetary compensation if you purchase by clicking through any of the links in this blogpost. Thanks for helping me to continue creating free content for you.

Design Inspiration with Devon Lavigne

NOTE: This is a re-issue of the initial blogpost, which had some technical errors in it.

I love books, especially quilting books and I have bookcases full of them to prove it! While I enjoy flipping through these books for inspiration or to find my next quilt to create, I really like to hear the back stories that are behind the book. 

I was fortunate enough to chat with Devon Lavigne, co-author or Fresh From the Prairies, about her latest book, Quilt Traditions. This book contains 12 different projects, mostly of a pieced nature, and uses a range of techniques to create these quilts. I sat down with Devon in her home just outside of Drumheller, Alberta, Canada to talk about the theme of Quilt Traditions and the inspiration behind some of the projects in it.

Watch the video below or on my YouTube channel.

I love the idea behind Quilt Traditions: celebrating different events in a girl's life. I so admire Devon's design ideas and how she crafts her quilt designs. I'm more of an appliqué quilter, than a piecing one so I am always fascinated when I see intricate-looking pieced designs. This is why I was so pumped when Devon wanted to collaborate with me on the Potion Quilt Along. It gave me the perfect opportunity to work with some half-square triangles, which I love, as well as learning how to make a block with a partial seam.

If you'd like to enrol in the online Potion Quilt Along, you can find out more information here. We'd love to have you join us :)

Creatively,

P.S. This blogpost contains affiliate links and I will receive a small amount of monetary compensation if you purchase by clicking through these links. Thank you for helping me to continue to provide free content for you.